Reflections on a First Birding Year in the Western Carolinas, August 2020

On August 25, 2019, my wife and I moved to our retirement home in the mountains of western North Carolina.  Specifically, to the suburbs of Hendersonville in Henderson County.  I not only looked forward to birding in an area that was new to me, but also as a recent retiree, l looked forward to having lots more time to go birding  Now with the first anniversary of our arrival in the mountains, it’s time to reflect on a most successful first year of Carolina birding.  Albeit one tempered by the Covid pandemic. 

First and foremost, I have made lots of good birding friends, not only in NC but also in SC which is just 30 minutes to the south.  I’ve had an excellent time birding with them, socially distanced and with masks these days.  Plus they’ve been most helpful in showing me all the best birding spots in the area and in getting me connected with local birding groups.  Many thanks to all my new birding friends here in the Carolinas!

And speaking of local birding, there is an excellent number of really good birding locations just a short drive from home.  Some of my NC favorites are the Hooper Lane sod farm for shorebirds, waterfowl, and waders; Jackson Park for migrants; Green River Game Land for the “southern” breeding passerines including Swainson’s Warbler; a spot I found on Rockwell Drive for sparrows and wetland birds; Warren Wilson College for migrants; and numerous spots along the Blue Ridge Parkway for the “northern” breeding passerines.  I haven’t birded in SC quite as much, but so far my favorite spots are Lake Conestee and the Saluda Reservoir watershed.  It’s great to have so many excellent (and close) birding spots to visit now that I’m retired.

And now onto my first love - statebirding:  When I moved to the Carolinas I had 253 on my NC statelist.  Since then I’ve been able to add 52 to that list, and now have 305 – my 10th state with at least 300 birds.  And in SC I’ve added 36 to take my list from 232 to 268.  Quite a number of these additions in both states have been “low-hanging fruit” – regular species that I just hadn’t run into on my previous trips to the Carolinas over the years.  But there were also a few rarities that I chased after, like Reddish Egret and Roseate Spoonbill seen 2 weeks apart in the same beaver pond near Charlotte, NC. 

And this Black-bellied Whistling-Duck at Ecusta Pond in Brevard County.

Not to mention chasing after Scissor-tailed Flycatchers in NC...

and in SC.

My statebird additions include quite a number of rarities that I found on my own locally in NC, including Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Connecticut Warbler, and American Bittern last fall; Lapland Longspur and Brewer’s Blackbird this winter; Wilson’s Phalarope as a spring migrant; a White-winged Dove this summer (a yard bird); and White Ibis, Willet, and Baird’s Sandpiper in August.  Most of these stuck around long enough to be able to share them with other birders as well.

Although there are many great birding hotspots in the area, the place where I’ve actually done most of my birding in this first year has been my own yard.  Although the yard is less than an acre in size, I have been able to find an outstanding 131 species here in my first year – 11 of these were new to my NC statelist at the time.  By comparison, at my old house in MA I had a yard list of 151, but that was after living there for 25 years.  Often I will go out to the back deck and just wait and watch for the birds to move through the yard.  By far the best birding has been in migration, when I’ve spotted an outstanding 30 species of warblers in just 1 fall migration and 1 spring migration.  During migration I would routinely have days with more than 10 warbler species, and more than 50 species total, easily rivaling local migration hotspots.  Of course, backyard birding is a great activity during the pandemic.  Not to mention a good way to minimize one’s carbon footprint.

Here are a couple photogenic birds from my yard – a male Purple Finch during a year where they were extremely rare in the area.

And this most attractive and obliging Scarlet Tanager.

My theory as to why the yard may be so attractive to the migrants (and other species) is that our yard is part of a wooded island oasis.  We are located on the side of a stand-alone mountain covered in deciduous trees, which is surrounded by an agricultural area mostly planted in apple orchards.  The orchards have to be nearly devoid of insects given all the pesticides that are sprayed on the trees to protect the apples.  I can only imagine that migrants passing through the area would much rather feed in our natural woodlands than in those comparatively sterile unnatural orchards.  Plus, the yard is at the edge of the woodlands and is adjacent to a large orchard.  So I get the benefit of a juxtaposition of multiple diverse habitats attracting woodland breeders like Great Horned Owl, Hooded Warbler, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, and Pewee, and farmland breeders like Thrasher, Towhee, and Indigo Bunting.

And speaking of local birding, many nearby birders focus on county listing in the region.  I’ve never really been into county listing, but I’ve started to pursue local Henderson County birds to some extent.  Although I haven’t chased after all the local rarities reported in the county, I’ve had 211 species since moving here, putting me in 10th place per eBird.  And I’ve tallied 189 in 2020 for 4th place.  Those totals are more a testament to how much time I’m out birding (420 eBird checklists in the county during the year) than to doing a lot of chasing.  Though now that there is less statebird potential locally, maybe I’ll focus more on my Henderson County list.

But not all of my birding has been local.  This past year I also took 2 trips to the coast with the Carolina Bird Club (CBC).  In 9/19 the CBC headed to Charleston, SC, where I added 9 new statebirds – mostly more low-hanging fruit.  And then in 1/20 I attended the CBC trip in Myrtle Beach.  On the way to the coast I added a couple statebirds including a pair of long-staying Limpkins.

The field trips that weekend netted 7 statebirds, including a rare Black Guillemot.  And then with a 1-day extension after the trip I was able to add 1 more in SC (a stakeout Bullock’s Oriole) and 8 more in NC, including finding a rare Pacific Loon.  I really miss coastal birding – I used to bird on the coast quite often when living in New England.  I can’t wait for the virus to be behind us so I can get back on the road and spend some time on the coast.

And with 600 total eBird checklists in the last 12 months, I guess I’m figuring out how to take advantage of all that spare time I have now in retirement.  

It truly has been a great first year in the Carolinas! 

Looking ahead, it will be great to pursue potential statebirds not just in the Carolinas but also throughout the southeast.  For instance, I’m looking forward to expanding my birding range in the mountains to cover the adjacent states of VA, TN, and GA.  And hoping to be able to get back to the coast to bird from VA down to GA.  Though I’ll have to tear myself away from all that great birding locally, not to mention right in my yard.